XXXII

April 2nd, 2021

Once at the hospital, Atsumu and Osamu both declined to go visit Tamiko. "Hinosa didn't invite us," Atsumu explained. "He asked you to come. We'll just wait down here."

"Are you sure?" Isuma asked. Osamu nodded. "Yeah. Plus, we can get dinner here."

He pointed to a small restaurant next to the hospital lobby. Isuma smiled slightly. "Fine. Go. Save me something."

"You got it. Call us when you're coming down." Isuma watched them walk away before going up to the front desk. The woman there asked, "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Altan Tamiko." She was suddenly aware that the teenage boy next to her had said the last two words at the same time as her. They exchanged glances; Isuma recognized him instantly. "Hinosa Senpai!"

"Miya-san, you came!" He pushed back his sandy brown hair and flashed a peace sign. Before Isuma could reply, the woman said, "He's two floors up, Room 304."

"Thank you." Isuma hastily bowed before following Hinosa to the elevator. He unzipped his jacket- it was much warmer inside the hospital than it was outside- and glanced at her. "I didn't think you'd come, Miya-san."

"Why not?" She asked. Hinosa pressed the button for the elevator. "You just seem like... a shy person."

"I'm not shy, exactly..." she didn't finish her thought. "How's Tamiko-san doing?"

"Good. He was awake this morning when we all came to visit. He's being discharged tomorrow, although his leg will take a while to heal." Hinosa waited for her to walk into the elevator before stepping in himself.

"That's good. I was worried his leg would be in really bad shape." Isuma replied. Hinosa smiled slightly. "It would've been if it weren't for you. I'll let one of the nurses tell you."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "You'll see when we get there."

Isuma didn't feel at all awkward talking to Hinosa- just the opposite. She might as well have been talking to Suna or Ginjima or Akagi- being relaxed around new people was a new concept to her. Hinosa just gave off that friendly, protective vibe.

"You know, Miya-san..." Hinosa hesitated and looked at her. "You remind me of Tamiko."

"I do?"

"I saw you at our match yesterday," Hinosa said. The elevator stopped; the two of them walked down the hallway before pausing at Room 304. "Wait out here for a second, Miya-san."

Isuma nodded; Hinosa knocked on the door before walking in. Tamiko was in his bed, tossing and catching a volleyball. He hastily sat up when he saw Hinosa. "Hino-nii, what're you doing here?"

"What else?" Hinosa smiled and looked back. "You have a visitor."

His volleyball slipped out of Tamiko's hands and rolled onto the floor when Isuma entered; his dark blue eyes widened in shock. "...Miya-san?"

She quickly bowed as Tamiko looked over at Hinosa. "I asked her to come."

"...right. Um, sorry," Tamiko murmured. Hinosa motioned to Isuma, and they sat down on the chairs by his bed. Isuma's eyes landed on his leg, which was in a cast. "How's your leg doing, Altan-san?"

He looked at Hinosa, who shrugged. "I thought you or a nurse should tell her."

"Tell me what?" Isuma's eyes flicked from Hinosa to Tamiko, who hastily looked down. He knew he should thank her, but he could barely bring himself to tell her what she'd done for him. "Well..."

Just then, a doctor and two nurses stepped inside the room and stopped when they saw Hinosa and Isuma. "Sorry- we didn't know you had visitors."

Tamiko motioned towards Isuma. "Sensei, this is the girl."

Isuma was growing more confused by the second, but the doctor's face lit up with understanding. "You're the one who saved him?"

"Um... yes?" Isuma answered, unsure where he was going. "How did you know what to do?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Isuma asked. The doctor shook his head. "No! If you hadn't told his coach to set his leg like that, his muscles would be in terrible shape right now."

Hinosa looked at her. "I told you, right? He probably couldn't have played volleyball again."

The doctor didn't give her a chance to reply. "Their coach said you barely glanced at Altan and knew what was wrong. The young man owes quite a lot to you. If I may ask... how did you do it?"

Isuma's gaze dropped; Tamiko understood how she felt immediately and said, "Sensei, she's a little... shy."

"No, it's fine." Isuma tugged at her sleeve as they all looked at her. "...it's just something I can do. I can see a lot. I can see what's wrong physically with a person. Their strengths. Their weaknesses. I can see their past injuries and what they're about to do. So when I saw Altan-san..."

She trailed off and fell silent. The doctor looked impressed and wanted to ask her questions, but a glance from Hinosa stopped him. "I see. What's your name?"

"Miya Isuma."

"Miya-san, have you ever considered being a doctor in the future? Have you ever thought about a similar career?" The doctor's voice was completely serious. Hinosa and Tamiko both looked at Isuma, who was startled. "I- I've never thought about it. And... I don't know if I want to."Hinosa tilted his head. "What do you want to do, then?"

"...I don't know. I want to continue what I'm doing now. I want to help people the way I help our volleyball team now." Isuma uncertainly looked at the doctor and two nurses. "As you wish. If you ever feel up for it, though, call me. You have great potential on any path you'd like to take, Miya-san."

He pulled a business card out of his pocket and held it out to her. Isuma hesitantly reached out to take it; the doctor smiled and nodded before turning towards Tamiko. One of the nurses had briefly checked on him while they had been talking. Isuma didn't hear them at all; her eyes were locked on the card. Hinosa murmured, "What's wrong?"

"-nothing! I just... I've never thought about what to do." Isuma was zipping and unzipping her jacket so tensely he could tell there was something else. Tamiko waited for the doctor and nurses to leave before saying something. "..thank you, Miya-san."

Isuma smiled slightly in response. "I'm glad you're fine, that's all. Also... I had something to ask you."

Tamiko straightened. "Go ahead."

Isuma looked at Hinosa for a second, who nodded encouragingly. "Hinosa Senpai said I reminded him of you earlier."

Tamiko glanced at Hinosa, who nodded again. Isuma continued, "During the match, I thought the same thing. But, Altan-san-"

"You can call me Tamiko."

"...Tamiko. You- you coped with it so differently. You acted so normally after Hinosa Senpai talked to you. How did you do that? How did you suddenly grow a thousand times more confident?"

Tamiko pushed his dark blue hair back awkwardly. "Well... I don't really know. And to be honest, you seemed a lot different yesterday. You weren't shy at all during our match. The thing is- and it might be for you too- volleyball's just different, you know? On the court, everything's different. There are no age barriers or anything- the only thing that matters is the match. Everything else, you kinda leave on the bench. I know you don't play volleyball, but it means a lot to you too, right?"

He looked at her expectantly. "Yeah."

"Why?" Tamiko asked. Isuma paused. "Because my brothers like it. Because it's one of the only things I feel comfortable doing. Volleyball... you just fall into it. It pulls you in."

It was exactly how Tamiko would describe it. "It's the same thing for me. Everything's different on the court. And, also... Hino-nii reminded me of something."

Isuma asked, "Are you related?"

Hinosa shook his head. "We've just known each other for a long time."

"...thank you, Tamiko." Isuma said. Tamiko hastily looked down. "Um, no problem."

"We'll see you over winter break, right, Miya-san?" Hinosa asked. Isuma answered, "You can call me Isuma. When?"

"Sometimes the major schools in the area get together doing winter break," Hinosa explained. "Just for practice matches and stuff like that."

"Oh, maybe. That'd be nice." Isuma stood up, grabbing her jacket. "I should probably go... I hope you get better soon, Tamiko."

"Thanks..." He murmured, tugging at his sleeve uncomfortably. Hinosa walked with her to the door and then lowered his voice so Tamiko wouldn't hear. "Did he answer your question?"

"Yeah. He's a little- distant- around people. Just like me."

"You're really the first girl to talk to him. Sorry if he was awkward." Hinosa rubbed the back of his head. Isuma shook her head. "No, it was fine."

"Well done at your match today, by the way. Your team did really well." Hinosa said. "Thanks. We're playing Mailo tomorrow."

"They're pretty decent players; we played them last year," he answered. Isuma replied, "Kita Senpai said they've played them at least once a year for a while now."

"We'll come by and watch the Finals," Hinosa said. Isuma tilted her head. "How do you know we'll get to finals?"

"Isuma-san, your brothers made it to the Finals at Nationals during the last Inter-High." He laughed. "I saw you yesterday- you worry too much. Inarizaki has the second-best volleyball team in the country. Relax some, won't you?"

Before she could reply, Hinosa opened the door. "You want me to take you down, or..."

"I can go. Thanks." Hinosa flashed a peace sign. "Thanks for coming. You get along well with Tamiko. He could really use more practice talking with people."

"Maybe." Isuma smiled and started walking down the hallway. Hinosa waited until she'd vanished from sight before closing the door and going back to Tamiko. "Well?"

"...she's nice. She's not like other girls," Tamiko murmured. Hinosa reached out and messed up Tamiko's hair playfully. "I'm glad you talked to her. Also..."

He trailed off. Tamiko asked, "Why did you come?"

"I needed to talk to you about something. Listen... earlier today, at practice..." Hinosa hesitated. Tamiko's eyes narrowed; he leaned forward and laid his hand on Hinosa's knee. "What happened at practice, Hino-nii?"

"...Sensei asked me to choose a captain for next year. It's never come up before, so nobody's ever really talked about it. I asked the second-years who they wanted as captain." Hinosa looked at Tamiko, whose eyes had widened. "Oni-san... they didn't pick me, did they?"

"They did." Hinosa held up a hand to stop Tamiko from protesting. "Listen, Tami-chan. It wasn't just them- I know you'd be a great captain too. I recommended you to Sensei, and he agreed. But I won't force you to, Tami-chan."

"...Hino-nii, yesterday was the first time I've ever led our team, and we lost. How can you think I'd be a good captain?"

"I watched you. I couldn't have done what you did yesterday. I couldn't have faced them like that. You ended the match on your terms against one of the strongest teams in this country."Hinosa got to his feet without giving Tamiko a chance to reply. "Think about it, okay?"

"...I will," Tamiko answered. "Oh, and before I leave-"

Hinosa picked up Tamiko's phone and unlocked it; he typed in a number and saved it. "Who's number is that?"

"Isuma-san's. Talk to her some time- you two are really alike. Maybe she can convince you."

"Hino-nii."

Hinosa had turned to leave. "...I'm sorry. I just- I just..."

He couldn't finish. Hinosa's eyes softened. "Don't worry about it, Tami-chan. I won't be disappointed if you say no. Don't feel pressured into agreeing."

Tamiko's eyes wavered; before he could answer, Hinosa flashed a smile and walked out of the room.

TYSM for 58K :>